We are Shepard
by MyNameIsAverage
Summary: Sure, she had heard the rumours. Everyone in Citedal space had at one point or another. They were hard to ignore when every possible inch of the extra-net was covered with John's face. A/U With two Shepards.
1. Chapter 1

"_There have been countless reported sightings of John Shepard, known famously as the Commanding officer of the team who saved the Citedal from Saren's geth attack. Most recent reports being that he had landed on Illium, less than 12 hours ago. A source also claims that Shepard is flying around the galaxy with a new team and ship. Whether or not these rumours are true, has not been confirmed as of yet. Now for- "_

With shaking hands, Jane closed the news broadcast on her omni-tool. Her eyes did not leave the blue holographic screen. Slowly, she walked over to her desk, pulled up a chair that was a few feet away and cradled her head in her hands.

Sure, she had heard the rumours. Everyone in Citedal space had at one point or another. They were hard to ignore when every possible inch of the extra-net was covered with John's face. Jane had accidently selected this particular video by sheer chance, aimlessly browsing articles. Before she had the chance to exit, her attention was grabbed by its title:

_**SHEPARD WATCH: SEEN ON ILLIUM**_

Against her better judgement, she had watched the entire video, which starred the reporter John had once walked out on an interview from. Jane let a small smile slip through as she remembered the look on her brothers face when he retold the story over a couple of drinks one night, remembers him saying "I swear Jane, it took all my goddamn willpower not to deck that woman across the face," while shaking his head. Probably in remorse, she liked to think.

_Don't believe it_, her logical side was telling her. _It can't be him. _

_I know, but… this is different,_ she thought. _Why would they make this up? Why now, why two years later? _If the story was true, then he was here. A few blocks away from her one bedroom apartment.

_But he's a celebrity_, logic fought back. He was talked about. Journalists conjured up false tales to make a story that will make people want to watch them and make themselves lots and lots of credits.

Jane dropped her hands, leaned back against the chair and stared at the white speckled ceiling. It was too much for her to even begin to process. The thought that after two years of being pronounced KIA her brother was possibly _alive? _It inspired dozens of conflicting emotions and thoughts within her. All of them were trumped by one; the one thought that doubted forced her to doubt his resurrection: If he was alive, why hadn't he contacted her? Why?

They were siblings and best friends. They were the only consistent people in each other's lives growing up. It was one of the many hardships that come along with being a space army brat. They were lucky to have each other.

So if he really was back, why in the Maker's name hadn't he _called _her?

In the middle of her extensive thought processing, Jane's omni-tool pinged. It read; _**Shepard Watch: Follow up**_.

Jane opened it,

_"The man rumoured to be Commander Shepard has been spotted once again" _Every single one of Jane's internal organs seemed to flip. _"He was just spotted near Illiums residential area, and seemed to be approaching the Human Community. It seems tha-" _

She cut of the news for the second time that day. Two quick raps at the door had completely diverted her attention.

"Jane?"

**A/N: So, I thought I'd post this small piece and if seems to be posively recieved I'll write some more. :) Thanks for the read and please review. They make me smile :D**

**Oh, and this is ridiculously rough and un-beta'd. If you see any mistakes, my bad. I have this habit of forgetting to put the last letter on some words.**


	2. Chapter 2

Jane went cold.

It was unmistakeably his voice. It had that cool, monotone sound that made it almost impossible to extract hints of emotion from. Even the way he had just called her name, it had sounded more he demanded her presence, rather than asking for her. Only a handful of people could have probably detected the slight change in pitch at the end.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Jane shifted her head towards the direction of the door. He had somehow opened it, which made her seriously doubt the security she paid 2,500 credits for. Then again, he had always had a knack for hacking databases. Still, it was something she should probably look into.

Her mind seemed to short circuit. Every single one of her emotions seemed to surface in order of strength. Surprise. Curiosity. Happiness. Confusion. _Anger._

"Where," She asked "The hell have you been?" she put as much emphasis on hell as possibly allowable.

"Dead"

A small burst of laughter escaped her lips. "I know you were dead. Hell, you better have been fucking dead. If you even try to tell me you've been anything _but_ dead I'll kill you again myself,"

He opened his mouth to speak but was silenced with a raise of her hand.

"If the rumours are true, and since you're standing," She gestured towards him "right in front of me in my living room I'm going to assume that they are, that means you've been un-dead for roughly what, four, five months?" She accused harshly. "That, brother is the window of time I am referring to. So I ask again, Where. Were. You." She spoke the last three words almost hysterically.

He didn't reply right away. First he took a moment to glance at his companions who Jane had not even been aware of until now.

Trailing behind him was two of the most polar opposite women Jane had ever seen. They both grabbed a persons attention, but for different reasons. The one standing to his right was striking. She had a full head of glossy brown hair that framed her perfectly symmetrical and unblemished face. She had curves in all the right places and breasts that surely would make it impossible to not give her back pains. Yet, she had the most perfect posture. Her figure was even more obvious with the help of the second-skin cat suit she wore. The way she carried herself as well, the very essence she gave off was sexy. She reeked of confidence. She _knew_ how amazing she looked. Aphrodite couldn't be more beautiful. She didn't seem acknowledge the attention she received.

Then there was the girl to his left. She wanted to be looked at. She was certainly a sight to see. She was walking around with nothing but a thing of leather wrapped around her nipples. She seemed to think that if a person had enough tattoos, it qualified as some sort of garment. Her pants were regular enough. She wore simple blank cargo bottoms. Jane wondered if they hid any more body art. She also had shaved her head bald which, to be honest, didn't look half bad. It worked with her facial structure. She seemed to be fixed on a permanent scowl. As if it would physically hurt her to even attempt to arch her lips in the upward direction.

The one thing they shared is that they both looked too independent to take orders. From anyone. But to Jane's obvious surprise when John asked to be left alone with her in the apartment both ladies complied with only a casual glance directed at the opposing Shepard.

Eyebrows still raised, Jane motioned for John to take a seat at the grey oval shaped table taking the seat opposite him.

"That... wasn't the reaction I was expecting from you," He said evenly rubbing his hand across his jaw.

Jane remained silent while looking at him straight on. She had said her piece.

"Look, if you want to know what's been going on, where I've been, everything I'm about to tell you, you have to keep an open mind. Some of it you're most definitely not going to enjoy hearing,"

Every single human life is in danger right now. I'm not sure about the other species, but humanity is in the red zone right now. We're all going to _die _if something is not done soon enough. If people continue to look at this threat without the seriousness it deserves. No human in the galaxy is safe. "

His intro had shocked Jane a little bit. He hadn't been this passionate about something, anything really, since…

"The Reapers," Jane whispered out loud.

John gave her a confirming nod. "We've discovered more about them. Remember the Protheans?"

"The race Liara was so dedicated to?" Jane asked. He still hadn't answered her original question, but he had piqued her interest.

"That's the one. She's here on Illium you know that right? Working as an information broker now," Something about the pained look on his face made Jane write a mental note to inquire about that after.

"Sure, I run into her once in a while. Even make use of her services," When on missions from the Alliance a good place to start for especially tricky leads were Brokers. But the good ones were usually costly. More than once she had needed to dip into her personal funds to receive a location or person.

"She's good at her job," he stated simply. "The Protheans were harvested and mutated by the Reapers. Then processed and used in an attempt to create an Organic-Machine hybrid… thing." He shook his head in disgust.

"When that failed they morphed them into beings called collectors,"

"Alright,"

John leaned forward across the table, a shadow crossing his features. "And they've been seen on human colonies. Gathering them," His lips a stern, unforgiving line.

Realization dawned onto Jane. "Shit," It all came together. All made sense. "We're next. Humanity is next."

Glad that she understood, he explained his plan. "Ever since I woke up, I've been preparing and gathering a team to cross the Omega 4 relay. To hit them we're it hurts. Home." He banged his iron fist onto the table to make his point. "We are _not _next. I'm going to do everything in my power to solidify the fact that this sort of genocide will never occur ever again," He looked up at her face to witness her reaction. Oh, and did he ever witness her reaction

"The Omega 4 relay?" She screamed pushing herself up. She scrunched her eyes and tangled her fingers throughout her chestnut hair. "Okay, first: You do realize that no one has ever made it back, right?" She didn't wait for a reply before trudging on. "Everyone going through there has died. You, you just came back from being dead. Which, by the way, you still have elaborated about" She inhaled deeply in a furious attempt to prevent tears. "You can't die again." She tried to make it sound like a demand, but it came out as more of a pleading request.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're right. I'll just live out the rest of my days like everyone else, and welcome the giant Reaper fleet with open arms, while in the back of my head I'm thinking '_I could have stopped this. I could have saved everybody,'" _He was standing now too, waving his arms around to further provide aid to his sarcastic remark. Her back was turned towards him; shoulders hunched in acknowledgement to the truth in his words. He took a deep, tired breathe. "Cerberus brought me back. This is why they brought me back, to put a stop to the Reapers. The whole operation took two years,"

If anything this was the hardest thing for Jane to understand. From what John had told her about his ventures, a good deal of them had been about busting Cerberus. They were a Pro-Human terrorist organization. So, in a really fucked up way, it made sense. In an even more fucked up way, Cerberus was trying to do something for the greater good. Still, Jane couldn't quite seem to wrap her head around the concept. "You're working… with Cerberus?"

"Temporarily,"

"Huh"

"They're funding it, and providing me with dossiers. Among other things," After a curios glance from Jane he added "You know, a badass hero has got to have some equally badass weaponry."

She couldn't help it, Jane laughed at that. It was exactly the kind of thing he would say in a dire situation. The way he said it too, so deadpan. It reminded her of how much she missed him. So for the moment, she made an effort to forget everything. She tried to focus on the fact that she had her brother back, no matter how short a period of time.

"How long are you on Illium for?" She asked while tapping commands into her omni-tool.

"Roughly 48 more hours,"

"Good, I just made reservations, 2000h. We're grabbing dinner, and catching up on two years of missed communication. Be warned, you missed quite a lot," She said while confirming their table.


End file.
